Battle Ready Nuke
by Wu the Stoic
Summary: Ten years after the war's end, a celebratory ball is planned, giving the boys a chance to reunite after a decade. Sometimes you get another chance for a first time meeting. No pairings now, but in the future 1x2, 3x4


Author's note: I have _no_ idea where this fic is going; all I know is that it wants, no… _insists_ on being written. I can't guarantee how long it will be, or when I'll be able to update, I just hope that you can bear with me. Also, the house that is in this fic is one that comes from my novel Your Side of Midnight, it was a familiar setting and I thought it would be perfect and if there's one person who can love said house as much as the resident ghost Billy, it would be Duo Maxwell. I'm going to try to keep the chapters long but as I stated, I have no idea what's going to happen, I'm more or less just sitting with you guys as it unwinds. I'm just the one who gets to read it shortly before you do. LoL

* * *

The grand old Victorian sat in the middle of five hundred acres, but if you asked Duo, he'd probably say he'd want at least double that. He lucked out when the realty agent dug the file to the ancient place out from a dusty folder and presented him with pictures of the timeworn estate, along with photos of the land. It had been covered with second and third generation growth, and the grand old house was hanging on by a thread.

That had been nine years ago, a year after the Christmas Eve war had ended.

"I'll take it," he had said to the lady with a careless shrug of one shoulder. The price had been cut, raised, and then cut drastically over the years, but that didn't matter. In the eleven months that he and Hilde had put their heads together and their backs into their work, they made a killing by gambling on placing the lowest bids to clean up the debris left over from the final battles. Mobile doll parts still fetched an alluring price in the scrap yard and they made out like bandits.

He had more money now than he knew what to do with; even after donating generous sums to various children's organizations, churches and veterans groups, the money still kept coming. He had to say; Hilde was a genius when it came to money management.

He had left when she met Steven, knowing full well that if he remained close to her life on L2, she'd never find the true happiness she deserved. It hurt at first; of course it did. She was his girl after all, but, he didn't feel that he could give her what she truly deserved. He had to bitterly fight the feelings of inadequacy and jealousy as Steven slowly made his intentions known. He had to assure her that this was what was for the best, for the both of them, and to see her happy made him elated beyond belief.

He even walked her down the aisle and gave her away. That had been one of the most bittersweet moments of his life, but he was glad that he could be there to share it with her. For one fleeting moment, he pretended, as he stood next to her in front of the alter before placing her hands into those of her soon to be husbands, that it was their wedding. They smiled at each other, emotion making their eyes glimmer with unshed tears, and he leaned forward, giving her a gentle kiss upon the cheek before finally letting her go for the last time.

Hilde had been the one to dig and dig and dig in her true stubborn fashion to find out his true parentage, or at the least what his real date of birth had been. Duo had lived so long on false birth records and social security numbers; she felt it was the least she could do to provide him with his true identity. He waited patiently for the results, though during the eleven month wait, they ribbed each other constantly one what his true name could have been. She had suggested Ashley, and when he gave her an incredulous look, she explained that that had actually been a man's name back in antiquity. She also suggested Sheila and Courtney as well and until he went and did the research himself, he refused to take her word on the matter.

Loren Dee O'Sullivan had come back with the birth records. No photos, just two tiny little foot prints forever captured in time in black ink. February the second, AC 180, L2 colony.

Time of birth: 3:20 a.m.

Sex: Male

Weight: Five pounds, two ounces.

Length: Nineteen inches long.

Mother: Johanna O'Sullivan.

Father: Unknown.

After running another trace with the old hospital bank's DNA, just to make sure it was correct, Duo again looked at the photocopy of the faded birth certificate; the real one now put away into a lock-box. He shook his head gently. "Well, there I am," he said in quiet finality.

"Well, I was close. Loren _is_ kind of a girl's name."

"Eh, it fits 'em both, but don't worry about me changin' my name any time soon," Duo said softly as he read his mother's name again. "I'm Duo. Poor little Loren never got a chance to grow up and be somebody."

Hilde was quiet for a long moment before speaking her mind with a mournful tone. "That's so sad."

"I know," Duo whispered before reaching out with one arm and giving her a gentle hug. He expressed his gratitude for once again finding this sacred information. It had been difficult, as the hospital where he had been born had been blown to bits when he was two. The main data bank had been salvaged; what little there was left, and kept simply for posterity's sake.

He pulled himself from his mulling thoughts as he turned into his driveway. It was long, lined with oak trees along the right side, massive with age as the twisted branches tried their hardest to reach out and arch over the new gravel. There were several large gaps between them and he couldn't help but to wonder what this place may have looked in its heyday. The trees that were left were ancient and gnarled, and once again judging by the massive gaps between some, there must have been many and there was no doubt that they were once handsome and regal as they offered shade to travelers coming up to the grand home during sunny weather.

The house itself was something else. Duo had to practically take it down to the bones and slowly bring it back to life. Finding information on this place had been much easier to find than his own birth records. It had been built as a flat-faced colonial back in the late 1700's. A fire around 1834 had nearly taken a third of the structure down, but the owners felt it was good enough to try to salvage, so they went to work remodeling it to their tastes. It was now considered a very large Victorian and on rainy days, Duo could still detect a faint hint of smoke from the old wood.

He and a crew of four had worked almost nonstop for two years. He wanted to keep the stately prestige of the place and his directives were if it could be restored, restore it. If not, replicate it. The house, Heartstead was the name he had discovered at the library, had been the sweetheart of the little town he now called home, Bon Hollow, which was just a little over an hour away from Charleston South Carolina.

The gearshift rattled firmly as he put the truck into park and he swung the door open before reaching over and grabbing a few plastic bags. A quick run to the store before he got some housework done, then he planned to start supper and completely veg out in front of the Tv. A marathon of good classic horror movies was coming on tonight that he wanted to see and since the day was still crisp as days in early April tended to be, he just didn't feel like doing too much more. Besides, after living in Bon Hollow for the past five years, he'd learned that even sweet crisp days could turn into rather ugly thunderstorms in the blink of the eye. Best to have snacks and entertainment.

The door slammed shut behind him and Duo gazed up to the structure as he walked to the front porch. It was wrap around, but not on this side of the house. He made his way up the side steps and crossed over floorboards he had hand sanded himself, past a large picture window that allowed the occupant to gaze at the glorious front yard as they stood within the living room. He paused at the front door and then reached out to touch the wood after pulling open the screen door and letting it rest against his hip. It was original to the house and oh so tall. He'd yet to find out why some houses back in those days and age insisted upon doors that were so tall. He was proud of himself that he had been able to salvage it, but hey; that was something he was very good at; salvaging things almost broken beyond repair.

The key slipped into the lock and the bolt clicked as it was opened. Duo pushed the heavy door open and then let the screen door snap shut behind him. To his left was the parlor, and this was the turret of the house. It was surrounded with windows that lit the room with a cheerful glow even in the dreariest days of winter. In front of him was the staircase, grand, dark and looming. He remembered seeing it upon the first time he had entered the house after nearly putting his shoulder out of place trying to get the poor door to dislodge from the frame. _"I guess they didn't worry about Feng Shui back then_ ," he had muttered with a grim grin.

Beyond the staircase was a hall that led to a guest bathroom and then straight into the laundry room that was large enough to also be used as a storage room. The realtor believed that room may have been a servants quarters back in the day, but she wasn't exactly sure. To Duo's right was an archway that led into the living room. Beyond the living room at the back of the house was the kitchen hidden behind a swinging door. The laundry room door was against the wall by the backdoor. Easy to come in and play maze, he remembered thinking to himself upon the first trepidatious trek around his new home. Upstairs there were four bedrooms, two on either side of the large staircase, with the master bedroom at the very end of the hall. The two bedrooms on the left, as you ascended the stairs, had a bathroom that adjoined them. The wall between the two bedrooms on the right had a small door that led to the attic.

A tic, a click and a soft whirring drew him back to the here and now. A large grandfather clock with its own nook in the side of the staircase, chimed once, twice, and then two more times before falling silent, save for the constant tic of time as it was counted down. This was Duo's pride and joy; like the front door this clock had been an original part of the house and had even suffered a bit of fire damage. He found it tucked away in the basement, hidden under an old painter's cloth and several ugly layers of white exterior paint. He spent the better part of two weeks cleaning the poor excuse of a paint job off before repairing the old wood, sanding and then finally staining it. He didn't know why, but when he found the old clock, there was such a sudden and hard pull to his heart that he could have sworn the feeling had been physical. When he called the realtor to ask her if she knew anything about it, as the piece had screamed ancient, she had drawn in a low slow gasp of surprise. The old clock had been thought to have been stolen over seventy years ago. To find out that it never left the house left her in stunned surprise and joy. Duo couldn't believe that it had actually _remained_ in the house after all this time; surely someone would have sold it by then? But, it _was_ large and perhaps the many past owners felt that it simply wasn't worth the trouble. If they only knew how much it was worth today.

So now, here it sat, back in its appointed position. Duo had made sure that it matched the stairs, but not exactly. He felt staining it just a bit lighter would make it really stand out, even though for some odd reason the original builders thought it would be prudent to put it in such an out of the way place. That was fine by him; he was just surprised the poor old thing not only still worked, but kept respectable time. Something about that old clock made him feel as if it were the heart of the house and he knew that that was something Quatre would have appreciated.

Turning right, he carried his bags through the archway and back towards the kitchen. "Supper, supper, supper…" he muttered to himself. "What am I going to cook?" Tossing the bags carefully upon his kitchen table he went to the fridge and pulled open the door. He still had the kitchen floor to mop before he could let himself off the hook for any chores, but, no sense in not killing two birds with one stone. He leaned down, pulling open a drawer and lifting up a package of chicken. He gauged his desires for it, and then put it back in. "Nope…" He opened another drawer and spied some ground beef he had picked up two days ago. "Nope." Digging again, he sighed as he went back to the chicken. "Chicken and dumplins it is," he said, grateful he had picked up a few cans of biscuits on this trip to town.

The only downside about living in the country in your own personal paradise was that he was half an hour away and when you forgot something at the store, it could be a real kick in the teeth sometimes.

He carried the meat over to the sink so he could wash it off, and then fill his large cast iron pot with water. Once he had the meat in and the burner turned down to medium, he went into the laundry room to fetch his mop bucket and pail. He had just started on the far side of the kitchen when his video phone suddenly rang.

"Crap it," he muttered as he set the mop against the corner of the wraparound counter and trotted to the living room. Whoever it was on the other end had hung up, but they hadn't given up. As soon as he reached the charging station for it, it began to ring again and he was quick to answer on the first half of the second ring.

"Yo!" he said before the image on the other end clicked briskly in view. The friendly smile on Duo's face froze when a familiar face greeted him with his own warm smile. Duo slowly tilted his head to the right, a slight line working between his furrowed brows. He opened his mouth, closed it and held up his finger before lowering his hand. "Quatre? Is that _you_?"

"It's me, Duo," Quatre's voice, amused, answered him back. It seemed to fill the room around him and the mirth within it made Duo's heart ache. Quatre. Good ole Quatre. How long had it been?

"How long has it _been_?" Duo asked in quiet disbelief as he sank down onto the loveseat. He leaned forward, resting his elbows onto his knees to try to get a better look at his old friend. Quatre had been cute when they were younger, but now, he was downright dangerous in his beauty. He had grown taller, Duo could tell by the width of his shoulders, but probably not by much. The baby fat on his face hadn't completely left, but now the cheekbones were a little more refined, perhaps the lips a bit more fuller.

"Almost ten years," Quatre answered promptly. His eyes still held that sweet gentle twinkle they always did. "Duo… you look wonderful!"

"So do you, Mr. GQ! I see the corporate life is doing you good, buddy!"

Quatre let out a soft humble laugh before lowering his head briefly. "Thank you. How are you doing?"

" _Weeell_ , I can't complain," Duo said. "Hey, I'm mopping the floor, let me take you with me, okay?"

"Alright," Quatre said, and then chuckled again as Duo grabbed the phone and walked them through the swinging door and into the kitchen. Once he had the phone set in its stand on the table, he lifted the mop and got back to work.

"So what have you been up to all these years?"

"Working," Quatre said. "Trying to make life easier for everything."

"Oh yeah? Same ole Quatre," Duo said with affection as he began to mop. "Hey, don't get me wrong, not that I don't mind or anything, but how did you manage to dig me up?"

"Well, I know when _you_ want to disappear, there's nobody better at it than you, but, I do have my resources," Quatre answered. He turned his head to briefly address someone who came into the room, and then, as Duo rang out his mop and went after another corner, apologized for the interruption.

"Yeah, you know, I should have just kept in touch, but after the war, I think we all kind of needed to reset. I guess I just got into the routine of not talkin' to any of you guys and habit grew into paranoia. I've actually _had_ your number for a quite a while, but I figured what if I called and brought up bad memories which in turn caused you to have panic attacks or sleepless nights?"

"I understand exactly how you feel," Quatre answered, his tone slightly melancholy. "I hope you don't mind that I called?"

"Not at _all_ buddy! You have no idea how good it is to hear from you!" Duo said as he turned his face over his shoulder to beam at his friend. When he received a relieved smile in return, he tipped Quatre a wink and went back to mopping.

"Did you know they're having a celebration for the ten year anniversary of the end of the war?"

"They are?"

"Yes. Relena was having a _very_ hard time trying to track you down," Quatre explained. "And I have to admit, I nearly gave up looking for you." He paused for a moment and then addressed another person who came in with a few papers to sign. He excused himself so he could flip through them briefly, and then put his signature to them. When he was finished he leaned back in his chair with a sigh. "Anyway, I told her not to worry, and actually, I just received this number ten minutes before I called. I wasn't sure who'd be on the other end."

Duo chuckled at that, rang out the mop, and slowly began to back closer to the phone. "I don't know if that's a good thing or not," he teased.

"You look _really_ good, Duo," Quatre said and meant it. The braided ex-pilot had grown, filled out. His face was still sweet, eyes still large and expressive, but maturity was chiseling him into a very handsome rogue. Even though he was wearing a ratty t-shirt and a pair of faded jeans that had more holes than was fashionably desired, they couldn't hide his grace and refinement. In fact, they only seemed to enhance it.

"Thanks, man. You're making me blush over here!"

"I'm surprised you haven't cut your hair," Quatre noted as the thick heavy braid slipped along Duo's shoulder to land with a muted thump onto the table.

Once he had finished ringing out the mop, Duo rose and tossed it back over his shoulder. "I'll never cut my hair," he said. "It's a tribute to someone I loved very much back in the day."

"I understand," the blond said tenderly. "It is lovely. I've always wanted to pick it up just to feel how much it weighs."

"A _ton_!" Duo chuckled. "Wait until it's wet!" Together they shared a good laugh and a fair bit of companionable silence as Duo continued on with his chore. The water on the stove simmered merrily as his chicken cooked, and he began to speak again, giving his old friend the details of his day, what his little town was like and then he talked about his house. Quatre listened attentively, one elbow upon the desk as he rested his chin in the cup of his hand. When Duo had finished speaking, he then was caught up on Quatre's life, which, the blond had to admit was exciting, yet predictable and boring at the same time. Get up, go to work, try not to get stressed, help those who truly needed it, go home, relax, go to bed and then do it all over the next morning.

"Well," Duo said after another lull in the conversation pulled them back into a comfortable silence. "How's Trowa?" Immediately he regretted the question when a longing sorrow crossed over the fair features. "Don't tell me you haven't spoken to him in all this time."

"It's true," Quatre said. "We got so busy after the war that… well, it's just how you said. The longer the time passed with no communication, the harder it was to reach out without worrying about the ramifications and what ifs. I… think about him often, but… maybe he'll come to the ball?"

"Maybe," Duo responded quietly as he gave Quatre a stern look. "So that means you haven't spoken to Heero either, I take it?"

"No," Quatre answered softly. "I'm afraid not. I've not really been in much contact with Relena, either, truth be told. When she contacted me trying to find out your location that had been the first time we had spoken in nearly three years. Other than that, what communication we did have was strictly business on my part."

"Damn," Duo sighed softly. "We really need to start doing a little bit better on the talking deal."

"You're right."

"I won't lie; it'd be nice if they showed up. I'd like to see them again, know how they're doing."

"Me too," Quatre agreed wistfully.

Duo put on his old familiar smile as he faced the camera so he could mop under the table. "So, when and where is this little shindig going to take place?"

The look of relief on Quatre's face wasn't lost on the ex-Deathscythe pilot. "It'll be at the end of June, in Hawaii. That's where…"

"Relena has her new headquarters," Duo finished for Quatre.

"So you'll go?"

"Yeah, I'll be there," Duo said, smiling at the sudden hope that sprang up in Quatre's voice. "I need a vacation anyway and besides; I've never been to Hawaii."

Quatre's face relaxed into an easy grin. "I have. It's wonderful. I have a bank of condos there, actually. I insist that you stay in the one right next to mine."

"That's mighty generous of you," Duo said as he made his way to the laundry room door, scrubbing the more high traffic area of the floor.

"Anything for my friends," Quatre said.

"You're going to have to come and see me," Duo said as he finished the floor and rinsed out the mop again. "And I mean come and stay for a while, not one of those working vacations saps like you seem to take. We'll go to the beach, watch movies, veg out, sleep, eat, all the fun stuff that you could do at home, but it's just oh so better when it's somewhere else." He spoke while Quatre laughed airily over him.

"Of course, Duo, I would enjoy that."

"I mean it," Duo said as he pointed at the camera. "You come here there's a few rules."

"Of course." Quatre grew serious as he prepared to make mental note of them. "Such as?"

Duo began to tick off on his fingers. "No button up shirts, no fancy meals, eating at the table is for adults! You have to walk around barefoot and we really need to introduce you to a pair of shorts."

Quatre laughed softly at that. "We'll see, Duo, but I will take your rules to heart."

"You always do, buddy." He sighed when another person came into Quatre's office with a stack of paperwork. "Look, I can see that you're busy. Wait… _where_ are you? Is that sunlight outside of your window?"

"You'll kill me," the blond said in a distracted tone as he flipped through a few of the white pieces of paper handed to him.

"Yeah, well, probably…"

"I'm in Florida."

" _Florida_!? When'd you move to Florida?! I had no idea you were this close to me! I thought you were still on L4!"

"No. I fell in love with the Earth and well… here I am. I had no idea you were so close either. I'm in Orlando, a few of my sisters wanted to run things from the Colony, so I let them."

"So it was a win-win for the Winner's, huh?" Duo smirked. Cerulean eyes met him over the screen and together, they chuckled.

"Yes," Quatre agreed. "Perhaps we can even travel together to the celebration?"

"That would be great," Duo said, his grin growing wider as he lifted the vid-phone and carried it back to the living room. "So how long ago was all this?"

"Four months ago, they're still building my house actually. I've got a hotel room, but I tell you what; I'm planning to throw a house party when it's finished and I insist that you be there."

"Consider me there," Duo answered quickly as he sank down on his favorite spot on the couch. He settled in and set the phone down next to him so they could be closer as they spoke. "We gotta lot of catching up to do and you just made it easier to do so. Call me tomorrow night when you get into your hotel room, alright?"

"Tomorrow night? I sure will, Duo. It was great talking to you again."

"Yeah, you too, pal. No more silence between friends, got it?"

"Absolutely!" came the warm and cheerful reply. They said their goodbyes and hung up. Duo slumped against the back of his couch, a pleased countenance on his face as he recounted their conversation. The read-out on the vid-call information informed him that they had spoken for the better part of an hour.

"Good ole Quatre," he said to the quiet of the house, and then rose with a grunt to finish preparing his meal.

* * *

Night had fallen prematurely with the heavy bank of storm clouds cloaking the Western horizon. As Duo was just putting his supper dishes into the dishwasher, a thick grumble of thunder rolled over the old house before finally ending with a decided boom a few miles away. It was loud enough to shake the windows and the results caused gooseflesh to prickle his arms.

"Man, that was a good one," he murmured to himself as he washed his hands, grabbed a soda and headed back to the couch. After he had spoken to Quatre, he had finished preparing his meal, and then dozed through a handful of sitcoms since the movie marathon was another two hours away; only the smell of his dinner waking him out of his drowse.

The light on the vid-phone flashed shortly before it began to ring. With a groan, he reached over, stretching his fingers until the pad of his middle finger hit the button. Seconds later, Hilde's face came onto the screen and he grinned as he flopped back into his comfortable repose. "Heya, Hilde, how's it going?"

"Hey, Duo! I tried to call earlier, but the line was busy."

"Oh yeah? Sorry 'bout that, was talking to an old friend."

"Who?"

"Nosy."

"I know," Hilde laughed as she reached for a rag and began to wipe off her hands. Her lovely face was covered with dark smudges of grease. "So, who were you talking to that kept you tied up for so long? I was getting worried."

"Quatre called me," Duo said.

"Really? That's wonderful! You haven't spoken with him in ages!"

"Yeah, it was really nice catching up with him," Duo agreed. "Hey Stevie, what's going on?" he asked as Hilde's husband walked behind her. The tall man backed up a few steps and held up an engine part. Duo grimaced when his trained eye spotted the massive crack in the casing.

"Seems you got your hands full," Duo said as the grimace came out in his voice as well.

"You got that right," Steven agreed before setting the part on the table next to Hilde so he could lean down over her shoulder and join the conversation.

"So what's up with Quatre?" Hilde asked.

"Well, looks like they're having a ten year anniversary ball to celebrate the end of the war, Relena's been looking for me, but it took _his_ ingenuity to actually find me."

"Oh yeah?" Hilde asked as she leaned forward on her elbows. "Are you going?"

"Hell yeah, I'm going! You think I'd pass up a free trip to Hawaii?"

She let out a soft chuckle. "You do realize that you're well enough endowed that you don't have to rely on a _free_ trip, right?"

Duo gave her a slow, easy smile. "Hey, I take what I can get, baby," he purred. In turn, Hilde tipped her head back and looked up to her husband.

"Are you going to let him talk to me like that?" she teased.

"Just be lucky you're not standing here, face to face with me, Maxwell," Steven said as he put up a mock fist to the camera.

His face turning almost blank, Duo slowly fluttered his lashes and purred to the man. "I wasn't _talking_ to her," he said.

"Oh, well then," Steven said. "Carry on." He grunted when Hilde put an elbow into his ribs.

"So, that was my day," Duo said with a sigh as he pushed his fingers through his bangs while life came back into his eyes. "And it was a good day, and now, it's trying to storm."

"Yeah," Hilde agreed. "I could tell you had some kind of weather going on; you're kind of breaking up over here."

"Well, in that case, I better let you go. Power grid's pretty stable here, but it does go out from time to time and I don't want you to worry."

"Thank you, Duo," she said tenderly. "I'll talk to you in a day or so, alright?"

"Alright, girl," he said with a smile before his face turned into a blank canvas once again as he locked eyes with her husband. He lifted his hand and slowly circled his left nipple with two fingers while gently biting his lower lip at Steven.

"This is the last time I'm telling you, you can't have me! I'm taken! I'm not some piece of meat for you to drool over!" Steven cried out as he pretended to hold a sheet to his body. "When will you ever respect me!?"

"All the pretty ones complain the loudest," Duo purred at him before giving them both a playful wink and shutting off the feed. As he was reaching for the button, Hilde was laughing at her husband and chiding him about the two feeding off each other.

Duo inhaled deeply through his nostrils before getting busy trying to find that perfect half slouch/half reclined position on the couch. He lifted the remote as he did so, pulled his blanket over his hips, and got settled into the pillow that was always ready and waiting at his favorite end. The movie marathon had begun and what he lucked out on first was a classic, presented in crisp black and white far after movies had been colorized. And while he let the comedic stylings of Gene Wilder and crew in Young Frankenstein drift him away, it was actually the rough grumbling of thunder and the soothing pattering of rain striking the tin roof that finally pulled Duo into a deep slumber.


End file.
